This beautifully framed piece features an original piece of watercolor artwork glass-framed in an attractive two inch wide black resin frame with a double mat. The outer dimensions of the framed piece are approximately 17” wide x 24.5” high, although the exact size will vary according to the size of the original piece of art.

At the core of the framed piece is the actual piece of original artwork as painted by the artist on textured 100% rag, water-marked watercolor paper. In many cases the original artwork has handwritten notes in pencil from the artist (be sure to “See the actual artwork without the frame” elsewhere in this website). Simply put, this is beautiful, one-of-a-kind artwork.

The outer mat is a rich textured black acid-free mat with a decorative inset white v-groove, while the inner mat is a complimentary colored acid-free mat reflecting one of the team’s primary colors. The website image of this framed piece shows the mat color that we suggest (Medium Blue), but since each piece is custom framed, we are happy to use whatever color mat you wish (depending on availability) – our standard mat colors are:

Light Blue / Dark Blue / Brown / Maroon (close to brown) / White / Silver / Gold / Yellow (bright yellow) / Green (dark green) / Orange / Purple / Red (bright red, somewhat close to PMS 186)

Beneath the artwork is a silver plate with black text describing the original artwork. The text for this piece will read:

This original, one-of-a-kind watercolor painting of the 1986-87 Quebec Nordiques (now Colorado Avalanche) jersey is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Colorado Avalanche uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Colorado Avalanche products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Tino Paolini for Maple Leaf Productions Ltd.

Beneath the silver plate is a 3” x 9” reproduction of a well known, best-selling print that celebrates the history of the team. The print beautifully illustrates the chronological evolution of the team’s uniform and shows you how the original art was used in the creation of this print. If you look closely, you will see that the print features the actual artwork being offered for sale. The 3” x 9” print looks like this:

The piece is framed with an extremely high quality framing glass. We have used this glass style for many years with excellent results. We package every piece very carefully in a double layer of bubble wrap and a rigid double-wall cardboard package to avoid breakage at any point during the shipping process, but if damage does occur, we will gladly repair, replace or refund. Please note that all of our products come with a 90 day 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Each framed piece also comes with a two page letter signed by Scott Sillcox describing the history behind the art. If there was an extra-special story about your piece of art, that story will be included in the letter. When you receive your framed piece, you should find the letter lightly attached to the front of the framed piece.

If you have any questions, at any time, about the actual artwork or about any of the artist’s handwritten notes on the artwork, I would love to tell you about them. Simply email me, Scott Sillcox, at scott@heritagesportsart.com and I will tell you everything I can about your original piece of art. The artists and I spent well over ten years of our lives creating these pieces of original artwork, and in many cases there are stories I can tell you about your actual piece of artwork that might add an extra element of interest in your one-of-a-kind purchase.

Please note that all reproduction rights for this original work are retained in perpetuity by the National Hockey League unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by the NHL. For further information, please contact Heritage Sports Art at questions@heritagesportsart.com .

 

History

1986-87The 1985-86 hockey season would prove to be the best season in Quebec Nordiques franchise history.  Led by 100 points seasons from Peter Stastny and Michel Goulet the Nordiques won their first Division title since joining the NHL by posting a solid record of 43-31-6. However, the joy of their great regular season was quickly dashed in the playoffs. With a shaky defence that allowed 9 goals in Game 3, the Nordiques were eliminated by the upstart Hartford Whalers in 3 straight games.During the 1986-87 season the Nords had a hard time repeating the success they had in the previous campaign. They finished 8 games below .500, a 31-39-10 record, and then squeaked into the playoffs finishing in fourth place in the Adams Division with 72 points.One could site injuries as the cause for the teams fall in the standings. Forward Alain Cote was the only player on the roster to play in all 80 games. The usual suspects were once again the team leaders.  Michel Goulet led the team in scoring with 96 points, which also ranked him 8th among the NHL's top point scorers. And Peter Stastny notched 77 points, despite only playing 64 games. Clint Malarchuk emerged as the main man in net, playing in 54 games with a 3.40 GAA and he was ably backed up veteran Mario Gosselin who won 13 games of his own and posted a 3.18 GAA.Despite their disappointing record the Nords were determined to show they were still a strong team by having a good run in the playoffs. Their first round opponent was the Hartford Whalers, who had a franchise-best season of their own finishing in first place in the Adams with 93 points. The hockey gods had given the Nordiques their chance for revenge for the previous years ouster and they took it.  After losing the first two games on the road, Quebec stormed back to win the next 4 games to knock out the Whalers and break the hearts of Hartford hockey fans. On the horizon was a second round match up with, whom else, the Montreal Canadiens.  Once again the Battle was onIn this edition of the Battle of Quebec the Nords got off to a great start by winning the opening two games on the road. But Montreal came back, thanks to some overtime luck in Game 4, to win 4 of the next 5 games to win the series, sending their provincial rival to the golf course.At mid season the NHL opted for a different format for their annual All Star Celebration. It was a 2-game challenge series featuring NHL All-Stars facing the Soviet Union Team called Rendezvous '87; the Nordiques home arena, Le Colisse de Quebec, would play host. The two teams split the games and Quebec City was the center of the hockey universe for a short time in February.The Nordiques wore a patch on the right shoulder of their jerseys to commemorate this occasion during the 1986-87 season as seen on this home jersey.